The tech industry shows solidarity in the face of Donald Trump's immigration ban

A huge number of tech workers are affected by the ban

It’s not often that you’ll find the tech industry in agreement over something, but from Alphabet to Uber, the criticism against Donald Trump’s immigration ban has been the same. Since the President signed the executive order blocking entry to the US for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, Silicon Valley has fought against the move with words and actions.

Google was one of the first to react to Trump's actions. CEO Sundar Pichai told staff traveling overseas that may be impacted by the order to return to the US immediately. In a note to employees, Pichai said nearly 200 Google workers are affected by the ban.

"It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues," Pichai wrote. "We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."

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Google has now created a $4 million “crisis fund” that will be donated to four organizations: the ACLU, Immigrant Resource Center, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps.

Apple boss Tim Cook said the company will do everything it can to support affected employees, adding that “Apple would not exist without immigration.” Microsoft, meanwhile, has 76 employees under threat. CEO Satya Nadella, himself an immigrant, said: “As an immigrant and as a CEO, I’ve both experienced and seen the positive impact that immigration has on our company, for the country, and for the world. We will continue to advocate on this important topic.”

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg expressed his concerns over the ban on the social network. He wrote that the firm is "assessing the impact on our workforce and determining how best to protect our people and their families from any adverse effects.”

After it was lambasted for refusing to show solidarity with New York City taxi drivers who were striking at JFK airport, Uber said it will create a $3 million legal fund to help its drivers affected by the ban. Rival Lyft is also helping by donating $1 million to the ACLU over four years. Its co-founders wrote: “[we] will not be silent on issues.”

Tesla’s Elon Musk, who is part of Trump’s business advisory team, tweeted that the ban is not the best way to address the country’s challenges.”

Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They've done right,not wrong & don't deserve to be rejected.

LinkedIn, Amazon, Mozilla, Twitter, and many more have also spoken out against the ban. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had some of the harshest words, calling the order “so un-American it pains us all.”

“Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe,” Hastings added.

Some big tech companies were noticeably quiet on the issue. Palantir refused to comment on the ban, though given co-founder Peter Thiel’s relationship with Trump, that’s not much of a surprise. IBM, Oracle, and Dell have also declined requests to comment.